The report mentions that India’s medical fraternity may take pride in improved life expectancy, but the spurt in lifestyle diseases, especially among kids, has resulted in premature ageing. Doctors say that there are no studies in India to establish it, but they are “certainly treating more children with ailments usually associated with adults”, says Dr. S. Balasubramaniam, senior pediatrics consultant, Kanchi Kamakoti CHILDS Trust Hospital in Chennai.

According to Times Nation (The Times of India) 21st May 2013, there is a worrying trail of the following:

Hypertension, high blood cholesterol have been found in children. Early on type-2 diabetes is being noticed among children. Toddlers with greying hair; wearing glasses at very early age are indications with warning signs that children’s organs are ageing faster than their years.

The main reasons attributed to this bizarre condition are environmental and dietary. Genetic factors account for only 20% of premature ageing. Pediatric obesity – which is reaching peak levels, high stress levels, sedentary and changing lifestyles, and numerous chemicals used in food are the root causes of premature ageing.

Dr. Kousalya Nathan, a lifestyle and anti-ageing consultant, who is undertaking a study on premature and adolescent ageing, states, ‘When a child suffers from lifestyle diseases like cholesterol and diabetes, his or her organs take a beating. So, the functionality of an eight-year-old child’s organs is that of a thirty-year-old. Cells of children are ageing. This, in turn, is affecting their organs.

Case studies reveal that to some extent, the biological clocks in children are ticking too fast and not too well. Early signs of facial hair in boys, breast formation in girls, children as young as three sporting glasses are some of the alarming signs.

Children’s Organs Ageing Faster Than Their Years… this is a sad, tragic reality of our times.

Geeta Chhabra

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